Pass the Protein!

One of the big things I've noticed about Italian cuisine....they don't eat much meat! Compared to America, where  you would have a struggle finding a dish without meat, or the option of it anyways, Italy is seriously lacking in it's meat options.

After ordering a beef kabob dish in Milan, see below, I was certain I would have my meat fix and could go back to my daily pasta. The beef was absolutely wonderful and I am glad we stumbled upon the Argentine place, 3cafe, thanks to my Let's Go Europe Guide.

But I soon found out a taste of a meat dish had me wanting more. I am ashamed to say I have purchased and tried, and quite good by the way, Italian Hot Dogs. Despite my best efforts at translation I cannot tell you what kind of meat they were made from, but they added some much needed protein to my diet, of that I am sure. I think the most embarrassing part about buying hot dogs in Rome, is that there's a fairly decent selection of meat at the supermarket, I just have no clue what to do with it that will make it into something resembling a local dish.

As I write this entry, I am searching the internet for some recipes to try and to avoid being so American. I seem to be having little luck, as every dish I seem to find then turns out to not be an authentic Italian dish at all! In doing a little more research on the Mediterranean Diet I find that the Italian diet is increasing in protein and it is leading to rising rates of obesity in children. So they are actually trying to avoid protein! I am all for trying lean proteins and similarly trying new things all together, but I need to add some meat back into my diet in some form soon. Some other articles have mentioned replacing red meat especially with nuts. Maybe I'll just stick to peanuts.....